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8.January.2026
News

Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court: Limited powers of review of the registry court when submitting lists of shareholders

In its ruling of 28 November 2025 (2x W 74/25), the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court further clarified the limits of the registry court's powers of review when submitting lists of shareholders in accordance with Sec. 40 subsec. 1 of the German Limited Liability Companies Act (GmbHG). The proceedings were initiated by the submission of a list of shareholders signed by the managing director by a notary to the commercial register of the Flensburg Local Court. The background to the list was the redemption of shares held by a shareholder. The competent registry court made the inclusion of t…
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16.December.2025
Audit, News

Preparing for IFRS 18: What Entities Need to Know for Application as of 1 January 2027       

Background With the aim of increasing comparability, transparency, and coherence in financial reporting, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published a new standard, IFRS 18 “Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements”, on 9 April 2024. IFRS 18 is intended to replace IAS 1 “Presentation of Financial Statements” and introduces a new structure for the presentation of the statement of profit or loss, which constitutes one of the key changes introduced by the new standard. Although IFRS 18 has not yet been adopted into European law, EFRAG already issued an endorsement …
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26.November.2025
News

Federal Court of Justice: Transfer of positive data to SCHUFA is permissible – fraud prevention outweighs data protection interests

In its ruling of October 14, 2025, ref. VI ZR 431/24, the Federal Court of Justice made a landmark decision on the admissibility under data protection law of the transfer of so-called positive data by telecommunications companies to SCHUFA. Positive data in this sense refers to master data and contract information without negative payment experiences. Background to the proceedings A consumer association wanted to prohibit the transmission of all positive data. The defendant, a telecommunications company, transferred its customers' master data and information on the conclusion and termina…
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19.November.2025
News

GEMA wins against OPEN AI in dispute over usage rights

In its ruling (42 O 14139/24 of November 11, 2025), the Munich I Regional Court decided that the use of song lyrics by the AI language model ChatGPT infringes on the exploitation rights of the authors if the developer of the application does not have a license. The lawsuit was brought by the Society for Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (GEMA) against ChatGPT operator OpenAI. As a collecting society, GEMA manages the rights of members and rights holders (including music publishers, songwriters, and composers). In the lawsuit before the Mun…
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25.September.2025
News

Recipient verification for transfers

From 9 October 2025, all banks and savings banks will be required to check whether the recipient name and IBAN match for transfers. This recipient verification is intended to prevent incorrect transfers and fraud. Until now, banks have not generally checked whether the recipient name provided matches the name stored with the IBAN for transfers. How the verification works All transfers in EUR within the SEPA area will be checked. If there is a complete match, the payment will be executed as usual. In the event of minor discrepancies (e.g. typing errors), you will receive a notifica…
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11.September.2025
News

BGH: Reference to GTC available online in paper contracts is invalid

In its ruling of 10 July 2025 (Ref. III ZR 59/24), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) strengthened consumer protection with regard to the inclusion of general terms and conditions (GTC). According to the ruling, it is not sufficient for a company to simply refer to GTC that are available online in a written contract form. Facts A telecommunications provider sent contract documents for a DSL tariff by post. The application form stated: "The General Terms and Conditions (available at www.…/agb) apply." A consumer protection association filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction. The Highe…
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3.September.2025
News

FIU Annual Report 2024 – Suspicious activity reports: fewer, but more targeted

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has presented its 2024 annual report. The number of suspicious activity reports has fallen significantly, while the quality of reports and output for law enforcement purposes has increased. What is the FIU, and what does the annual report offer? The FIU is the German central office for financial transaction investigations at customs. It receives suspicious activity reports in accordance with Section 43 of the GwG, analyses them in a risk-oriented manner and forwards analysis reports to law enforcement and security authorities. The annual report compiles…
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2.July.2025
News

Discontinuation of the EU Online Dispute Resolution Platform on 20 July 2025 – Essential Information and Actions for Businesses

As of 20 July 2025, the European Commission will permanently discontinue the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. From that date forward, the platform will no longer be available and access will be deactivated. Background Launched in 2016, the ODR platform was intended to provide consumers and businesses with a simple and centralized means of resolving disputes out of court. However, despite its EU-wide applicability, the platform was rarely used in practice. For reasons of efficiency and cost, the European Commission has therefore decided to discontinue the platform. This decision …
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19.March.2025
News

Suspicion of money laundering: Bank does not have to pay a customer’s legal fees even if there is a delayed repayment when suspicious activity is reported (OLG Frankfurt am Main)

On February 25, 2025, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main ruled (Case No. 10 U 18/24) that a bank that does not disburse a customer's funds for several days due to a suspicious activity report filed under money laundering law is not obliged to reimburse the customer's legal fees. Background to the case Within a few days, the plaintiff's account was credited with two large amounts (totaling EUR 1 million). Due to these unusually high amounts, the bank reported the transaction to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in accordance with Section 43 of the German Money Laundering A…
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4.March.2025
Audit, News, Mandates

Uncertainties of CSRD adjustment: The VSME reporting standard as a way forward?

Background: Uncertainties of CSRD adjustment Last week, the EU Commission presented its proposals for revising the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and other legal acts (see our previous post for more on this). Since it is unclear at this stage which simplifications will pass through parliament, large companies (according to the German Commercial Code, i.e. HGB) with fewer than 1000 employees are facing a great deal of uncertainty. Even if a two-year postponement to 2028 (report on the 2027 financial year) is considered likely, companies could receive data requests from large bu…
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